Hermione's O.W.L. grades

[Jocelyn]

No: HPFGUIDX 133383


~redandgoldlion~:

> So there it is. Quite strange that she, Hermione the Brilliant, 
> only got an EE in DADA, isn't it? I mean really, this is Hermione 
> we're talking about. What happened? She is too studious, and too
> intelligent to mess up on exams like this. So what *did* she mess 
> up on? Any thoughts?



Jocelyn:

It's not strange at all. Harry and Ron play on the house sports
team. Their sport moves quickly. They learn to use and hone their
instincts - which way to move to avoid a blodgerm etc. They are
used to reacting quickly. This would be a huge part of the DADA practical, I should imagine.

For all Hermione's brilliance, she does tend to think, or rather
over-think. Harry and Ron will react more quickly, for good or
ill. On a DADA practical - if that's where she lost the points, it would make perfect sense.

As for the literary answer, the 'E', allowed the readers to see
Hermione's reaction to it (my husband and I loved that), allowed
Ron to show her expectation (his pride as well?) that she would get the grades that she did. It humanized her, allowed another clue about Ron's feelings about Hermione to come out, and let Harry best Hermione in something other than Quiddich.

Those are my thought on the subject anyway.

Jocelyn